Four railway officials suspended, general manager sent on leave

New Delhi, August 20

The government on Sunday suspended four railway officials and sent the General Manager of Northern Railway on leave following the derailment of the Utkal Express that killed 22 passengers.

Based on prima facie evidence, a Junior Engineer (Permanent Way), a Senior Section Engineer (Permanent Way), an Assistant Engineer and a Senior Divisional Engineer have been suspended, a Railway Ministry statement said.

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A senior railway official earlier said a preliminary probe has found that maintenance work was being carried out on the tracks where multiple coaches of the Utkal Express derailed on Saturday. 

“Some maintenance work was going on, which might have caused the derailment of the Utkal Express,” said Mohd Jamshed, Member Traffic, Railway Board, at a news briefing on Sunday.

The senior official, who rushed to the spot in Khatauli where the accident occurred, said he had seen maintenance tools on the tracks.

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“There is an audio clip of a conversation that we will probe. Also, when we did a site inspection, we saw some equipment of the Railways used for track repair present there,” he said.

“It is being said that some work was being carried out at the site and in that work the required precautions were not taken,” Jamshed said.

An initial report will be submitted to the ministry by this evening, he said.

He said the Railways has instituted an enquiry to be conducted by the Commissioner, Railway Safety, Northern Circle. The probe will begin tomorrow, he added.

“As per the directions of the Railway Minister, strict action will be taken against those found guilty prima facie,” he said.

“Commissioner Safety will ascertain what type of maintenance work was being carried out on the track in his detailed probe. He will also find out whether laid down rules were followed,” he added.  — Agencies